(Western Art Music, 800-1750) Combined Syllabus for Sections: MUSI 3300-001(82990) and MUSI 3300-002 (82991) Fall 2013
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Music History I (Western Art Music, 800-1750) Combined Syllabus for Sections: MUSI 3300-001(82990) and MUSI 3300-002 (82991) Fall 2013 *You are fundamentally responsible for your own progress in this course and seeking help should you need it. Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Ronyak Office Number: Fine Arts Building 245 Office Telephone Number: To be announced soon in class when operational, but only to be used for an immediate emergency (like cancelling an appointment); I check this phone seldom. Please contact me in general via email. Email Address: [email protected] Faculty Profile: https://www.uta.edu/mentis/public/ - profile/profile/view/id/10665/category/1 Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 11-11:50. Feel free to drop in unannounced at those times, or to make an appointment during them. I am also available for appointments at other times. Even if you speak to me verbally about an appointment, please also follow up via email. Section Information: MUSI 3300-001(82990) Time and Place of Class Meetings for Section 001: FA 309, MWF 9:00-9:50 am Section Information: MUSI 3300-002 (82991) Time and Place of Class Meetings for Section 002: FA 309, MWF 10:00-10:50am Music History/Theory GTA: Elizabeth Stelzer Lab (FA 302) office hours: Hours vary; check availability on the schedule posted on the door Description of Course Content A study of Western Art Music (Western Classical Music) from ca. 800-1750 from the perspective of stylistic and cultural contexts, emphasizing the development of listening, score reading, stylistic analysis, critical thinking, and communication skills. Student Learning Outcomes: 1.) Music historical and stylistic literacy: Basic knowledge concerning the canon of Western Music is a fundamental starting point for more advanced study and success as a professional or academic musician. Students will familiarize themselves with the central repertoire of the Western art music canon in order to acquire this basic literacy and develop a set of foundational skills to be applied to further music study in this and other repertoires. The main skills to be focused on this semester include those listed in the following learning outcomes. 2.) Stylistic listening, score reading, and analysis skills: The ability to describe, analyze, and make critical assessments of compositional style requires familiarity with a wide range of repertoires and compositional techniques. Understanding the context of these techniques further enriches the ability to make creative musical decisions in one’s own work. Students will work to recognize the diverse musical styles and genres studied through listening and score study and will be asked to apply this knowledge to unfamiliar repertoire in order to be able to make well-founded critical and aesthetic judgments of diverse music in future study or professional work. 3.) Critical thinking and communication skills: Thinking critically—and even philosophically—about the music that one plays, writes, studies, or teaches and being able to successfully communicate these thoughts to others is one of the deep hallmarks of a thinking musician. I see it as my fundamental mission to challenge you in this respect. In addition, learning to approach the relationship between music and broader cultural 1 contexts and ideas with a critical mind helps to develop skills that can be applied to a broad range of interdisciplinary studies and career activities. Through class discussion, workshops, a short paper, and exam essays, students will engage critically with diverse ideas about the relationship of music and culture in order to develop critical thinking and successful verbal and written communication skills that can be applied in future study and intellectual engagement throughout life. Required Textbooks and Other Course Materials 1) Douglass Seaton, Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition, third edition. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 2.) J. Peter Burkholder and Claude V. Palisca, Norton Anthology of Western Music, sixth edition. Vol. 1: Ancient to Baroque. Please bring this anthology to every class meeting. All other required and optional reading will be available through blackboard. Required listening will also be made available through blackboard, often directing you to a playlist in Naxos Music Online, Videos in Opera in Video, or occasional YouTube clips. You may log in to this course on blackboard at https://elearn.uta.edu/ . Prerequisite Restricted to music majors and intended majors. Students must have passed MUSI 2326. Descriptions of major assignments and examinations In addition to a professionalism grade (made up of attendance, take home score-based quizzes, in-class listening quizzes, and participation in in-class workshops), students will be evaluated on the following major requirements: 1.) One short, formal paper, due mid-semester. This paper will not require outside research. (I will introduce more substantive music-historical research into the second semester of this course, Music History II.) The paper is instead designed as a concentrated exercise in engaging closely with ideas touched upon in class and in relevant short reading assignments. 2.) Two midterm exams that will include short questions testing basic literary concerning repertoire and context, listening familiarity and applied critical listening, score familiarity and applied score analysis, and critical thinking. 3.) A semi-cumulative final exam, testing the above elements on material primarily since the two midterms, but including a cumulative essay question. Attendance and In-Class Technology Policy Attendance: Class will consist of a combination of lecture, discussion, and a few scattered workshops. We will regularly emphasize, clarify, and discuss important aspects of the material in a different (if complimentary) way than it is presented in your textbook. If you miss class, please catch up on the missed material with a classmate, the TA, or me (or some combination of both). Your professionalism grade includes an attendance component. Three unexcused absences are automatically permitted for the semester. Each additional unexcused absence will lower your professionalism grade by ten percent (For example, after three unexcused absences, the highest possible professionalism grade that you can earn will be a 90 percent.) This deduction will continue until the grade reaches a zero, should there be that many absences. 2 I tally attendance on an alphabetical attendance sheet. Please do not forget to sign-in! Otherwise I have no official record of you being in class. Unexcused absences also include days on which you are so late to class as to be unable to sign in on the attendance sheet. Excused absences due to documented illness or another emergency can be negotiated. In the case of illness, please inform me by email ASAP (to guarantee that the absence be excused, this needs to be posted BEFORE class that day). Please include the following information in the subject line of your email for absences: Music History 1; Excused Absence; Full Name; Date of Class to be Missed I will let you know if I require a doctor’s note. In the case of other emergency, please also let me know what is going on as soon as possible. The more delay there is in notification, the less likely I will be able to accommodate the absence. Lastly, gigs, non-emergency doctor appointments, and other conflicts that you yourself schedule do not count as excused absences. In-Class Technology Policy Laptops and Tablets will be permitted but subject to ban (for the entire class, at my discretion) should their use become disruptive to me or to other students in the class. Cell phones and smart phones must be powered down (or put in completely silent mode; no buzzing or other audible alerts permitted) and stowed away. I reserve the right to exclude you from the lecture if I find your unauthorized use of a phone or improper use of a computer distracting or disruptive. Grading Professionalism Grade: 10% Paper: 20% Midterm Exam no. 1: 20% Midterm Exam no. 2: 20% Final Exam: 30% Expectations for Out-of-Class Study and Ungraded Homework Beyond the time required to attend each class meeting, students enrolled in this course should expect to spend at least an additional nine hours per week of their own time in course-related activities, including reading required materials, completing assignments, preparing for exams, etc. Some weeks may require more, others a bit less. In addition to the assigned reading, listening, and score study to be prepared before each lecture, students are strongly urged to keep up with the study guides (“Questions to Consider and Skills to Practice”) throughout each unit. I will expect students to have done the required reading, listening, and study guide for each class meeting, and will call on students without warning as a check-in concerning this material. I am here to clarify and expand upon the material that you have read, but I can only do this if you come to class prepared. You are fundamentally responsible for your own progress in this course and seeking help should you need it. Policy Concerning Credit for Take-Home Score Quizzes, Listening Quizzes, and Group Workshops in Class There will be a small handful of quizzes and workshop activities this semester to help you with the most difficult aspects of this course. All of these activities are meant as “practice” for the exams. For-credit listening quizzes will be graded rather strictly. In contrast, score and workshop assignments will primarily receive 3 participation credit and suggestions for improvement. The average of these grades will combine with your attendance towards your professionalism grade. Make-up Exams Make-up Exams will only be offered in the case of a documented emergency or significant illness. Students in need of a make-up exam will need to take the exam (if at all possible) within one week (preferably less) of the initial exam time, or forfeit the opportunity (opting to fail, withdraw from, or take an incomplete in the course as necessary).